The message was left with a hint of desperation in the voice, “Please call ASAP!”
The call is free. You just never know.
Checking the time it was left late the night before. So I called. It seems the caller, one of the leaders of a healthy, growing midsized ad agency, with good creative chops, had made it into the final round of a review. A review the she really wanted to win. That if they won it would change the course of the agency, putting them on the map, fame, recognition, rewards.
The problem was they were the last agency in. And they were going against some of the best agency brands in the business. Brands we all know. And who hate to lose. And our little agency was already in last place.
Within the agency some of the “boo birds” were starting to chirp. They had no chance of winning. They should bow out. The competition was too tough.
One of the senior staff remembered what we said at a conference she had attended; when you arrive at a critical moment for your agency, a crossroad, give us a call. You never know…
She made the call.
Win The Pitch.
The Situation: Last place going in. Large account. Never worked with an independent firm. Procurement running the review. Lots of process. Competition was all multinational or national name brands and any one of them a safe bet to win.
We thought our client could win the pitch.
Our advice: Win the chemistry battle and out process procurement. We spent several days working with them on the structure, process, staffing, storyline and flow of the pitch. Every detail was worked out, from the brand strategy to the type of glasses and refreshments used during the break.
The pitch: They went in with all the little details better organized, thought out, and structured. Little technology used, more interpersonal relating. The meeting had a good flow, a logic trail, and led to a strong recommendation. At the end of the first hour the team had refreshments brought in with silver and linens. The second hour was used to fill in the details, provide some additional planning discussion and answered any additional questions. Again, they ended on an “unexpected” planned high note – going out strong.
The win: With procurement calling the shots after the final agency presented the score sheets were tabulated. A tie. The agency and one of the big shots were tied. So procurement put it up to a vote with the marketing people – who would they rather work with?
Our agency won. Number one reason given? The refreshments. Specifically, the linens. You see we identified the key decision maker as a strong BodyCopy and knew she would love that level of detail.
If it had been any other client we would have not brought the linens in, but having been through this type of pitch many times we knew how to profile this brand. We knew they would love the linens.
Give us a call. We can help. 412.897.9329 or just email us [email protected]
Photo by dashboard-day
